Lasers used in medicine and dental application have a light energy output that can be controlled for providing thermal treatment to disease and traumatized tissues. Optical fibers provide a means for delivering laser radiation with minimal energy loss to remote tissue locations within the body. Some therapeutic procedures require that the laser radiation be delivered laterally or generally perpendicular to the fiber optic probe. One system to accomplish the beam deflection uses a gold plated mirror positioned at the distal end of the fiber optic probe. The mirror is held in place by a metal tip. The laser energy is reflected off of the gold surface which must be cooled and kept clean to avoid damage. Another system uses a fiber optic probe that has an angle polish on the distal end thereof. The fiber is placed in a quartz tube to provide a fiber/air interface. An example of the fiber optic probe is disclosed by Vassileadis and Hennings in U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,895. These probes can have a substantial amount of unwanted reflected and refracted laser radiation.